


Red, Gold, and Vibranium

by lirin



Category: Black Panther (2018), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Hogwarts Second Year, Hogwarts: A History
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-23 23:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17692808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirin/pseuds/lirin
Summary: At last Shuri came to an empty compartment on the train. There was a book on the seat: "Hogwarts, A History." That sounded useful. She hoped she'd have time to learn more about this strange place before the book's owner returned to claim it.





	Red, Gold, and Vibranium

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mlraven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlraven/gifts).



"There's no such thing as magic," T'Challa said.

"There's no such thing as undetectable aircraft powered by an autonomous propulsion field," Shuri retorted. "Just ask anyone in Europe, or Asia, or America, or most of Africa for that matter."

"The existence of the one doesn't imply the existence of the other," T'Challa said. He reached out towards the parchment that Shuri was leaning over.

Shuri smacked his hand before he could touch it. "The ink hasn't dried yet, and I don't want to have to redo it."

Quirking an eyebrow, he ostentatiously clasped his hands behind his back before joining her in bending over the document. "'Dear Princess Shuri,'" he read. "'We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.' If there really is a Hogwarts, don't you think that they keep track of what letters they've sent out?"

"Oh, you know how bureaucracy is," Shuri said. "I'm sure there are all sorts of ways that one little letter could have fallen through the cracks. And all I need is a few days—just enough to see what's going on and figure out whether magic is worth investigating further."

T'Challa frowned at the paper. "Just don't take any chances," he said. "I still think it would be better if we sent one of the Dora Milaje."

Being careful not to touch the (hopefully now dry) ink, Shuri picked up the letter and waved it at him. "As if any of them would be able to pass for a student as well as a twelve-year-old can."

"And you're sure you don't want to claim to be eleven? You'd stand out less as just another first-year student. We don't know how many transfer students they get, if any."

Shuri shook her head. They'd discussed this days earlier, back when she hadn't even been sure whether she'd be able to forge the letter. "We don't know what sorts of lie-detecting abilities these magic users have. I don't want to lie about one more thing than I absolutely have to."

"And if they can detect all the lies you couldn't avoid, what then? You'll be surrounded, outnumbered, defenseless."

"Not defenseless," Shuri said. She tapped the dry ink of the letter, and it swirled magically around her fingertip, just like the ink on the letter she had found last summer, tucked in a book in an obscure London used book shop. "Never defenseless, while we have vibranium. I'll be fine."

T'Challa sighed. "It's Baba's choice whether you go, not mine, so what I think about it really doesn't matter. But...I will worry about you, sister, but I will be happy for you too."

"Aww, that's my big brother." Shuri threw her arms around him, because this was her laboratory and she could do anything she wanted to here. "I don't know what you're going to do for a year without me."

"I'll try to have positive thoughts," T'Challa said. "Maybe they'll catch you on the first day and you'll have to come right home again."

"You wish," Shuri said with a grin. She was going to miss him too.

* * *

Baba accompanied Shuri on the flight to England, and then on the cab ride to King's Cross. If he threw a few more worried glances her way than usual, Shuri pretended not to notice. She wasn't too worried: if this were a truly dangerous mission, Baba wouldn't have allowed her to go at all. 

"You're sure you'll be able to find Platform 9 3/4?" Baba asked her as the driver fetched her luggage.

"Don't worry," Shuri said. "I have plenty of ideas."

 

Ten minutes later, staring at the empty wall between Platform 9 and Platform 10, she had eliminated half a dozen of her ideas. She wasn't worried yet, though. Tapping discreetly at her kimoyo bead bracelet, she set it to scan the wall. Sure enough, there was something strange about it. The bricks were solid, and yet not. But there was only one way to find out for certain if what she suspected was true. At least she was wearing vibranium body armor (one of her prototypes for the Black Panther suit, borrowed from her lab on a last minute impulse), so if she was wrong she shouldn't be hurt too badly. She took a step forward.

And another step, and another, until she was standing on a bustling train platform that had not been there a moment before. Whether it was vibranium or magic that had gotten her there safe and sound, she did not know, and there was no time to ponder the matter, for all her focus needed to be on the journey ahead.

All around her, people were laughing and chatting and hugging, but she spoke to no one and made straight for the train. Better to avoid unnecessary interactions until she got a feel for the lay of the land. She pushed past compartment after compartment, some full of rowdy young people, others almost empty, their inhabitants reading quietly or staring into space.

At last she came to an empty compartment. There was a book on the seat: abandoned, or had the owner left it to claim this seat? Shuri leaned against the glass of the door and strained to read the title. " _Hogwarts, A History_." Now that sounded useful. Anything to learn more about this strange world she had thrown herself into. Without giving herself any time to consider, Shuri thrust the door open and strode into the compartment. She had to sit somewhere, after all. And if the owner of " _Hogwarts, A History_ " came looking for it, well, obviously she'd stop reading and return their book to them. But until then, she was going to learn all she could.

* * *

"Excuse me, I believe you're reading my book."

Shuri dragged herself away from a discussion of the remodeling done to the Hogwarts Great Hall in the 17th century (not the most immediately useful information, but fascinating to hear how they incorporated magic when doing construction) and looked up. A girl around her age stood in front of her, glaring with her hands on her hips. "That's _Hogwarts, A History_  and if you look at the inside front cover, you can see that it says 'Property of Hermione Jean Granger' on the bookplate."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shuri said quickly, hoping to mollify her. "I just don't know anything about Hogwarts, and I was hoping if I read a bit about it I'd have a better idea of what I'm getting myself into."

"Well, of _course_ you should read about Hogwarts before you go there," Hermione said. "I keep telling my friends that they need to read _Hogwarts, A History_ , but they don't listen to me. You're a first-year student, then?"

"Actually, I'm a transfer student," Shuri said. She pulled her forged letter out of her bag and held it out as evidence, but Hermione scarcely glanced at it.

"How old are you? I'm twelve, and I'm in Gryffindor. Which house do you think you'll be in? Are you going to be in my year?"

"I'm twelve too," Shuri said. "I don't know what house I'll be in. I read a bit about them just now, but I'm not sure I understood. I want to be intelligent _and_  brave, and resourceful and hard-working too. Do I have to choose one?"

Hermione shook her head. "You don't have to be in Ravenclaw just because you're smart and you like to read. _I'm_  not, and I like to read more than anybody I know. The hat will know where to put you, and if it's not sure, it will talk to you about it. I think it bases its decision on what attribute it thinks is most fundamental to your personality, or perhaps the one that will continue to develop the most as time goes on. I'm really not sure; _Hogwarts, A History'_ s coverage of the Sorting Hat is really quite superficial."

"It really is," Shuri agreed. She flipped back to that part of the book. "Yes, there's only—" She counted— "six pages on the Sorting Hat, and most of them are talking about its songs. Does it spend most of its time singing?"

"Not really," Hermione said. "It spends most of its time sitting in the Headmaster's office not doing much of anything, I think." She plopped herself down on the train seat next to Shuri so she could look at the book as well. "Here, let me show you what it says about the houses so you can try to figure out which house you're likely to end up in. If you care about bravery, maybe you should ask the house to put you in Gryffindor with me. I'll help you find your way around the school."

"That would be nice," Shuri said. "It sounds like as good a house as any. Though of course I haven't met the Sorting Hat yet." She turned the page and read the part about sorting again.

Hermione read over her shoulder in silence for a minute, then resumed her questions. "Are you a Muggle-born? I am, and since you don't know much about Hogwarts I thought you might be, too." Shuri tried to school her features to an impassivity that didn't betray that she didn't know what that word meant, but Hermione forged ahead anyways. "Muggles are people who can't use magic, so Muggle-born witches and wizards are people who grew up in the Muggle world. My parents are dentists. What do yours do?"

"Um...they're the king and queen of Wakanda. But it's a very small country, so it's not like I'm anybody important."

"Oh, Wakanda! In East Africa, right? Its chief exports are, um, grain and wool, and it borders Lake Turkana. I'm afraid that's all I remember; I haven't read anything about Africa in a while."

"That's more than many people know," Shuri told her.

Hermione grinned. "I used to read about all sorts of things when I was little, but ever since I learned I was a witch, I've only read about magic because I need to catch up. Everyone who wasn't born a Muggle has eleven years' head start on me. I've really only read about Hogwarts and the United Kingdom, because if I don't narrow my focus I'll never be able to read everything, but that leaves a lot of things I don't know enough about. What is the wizarding world like where you come from? Have you interacted with it much since you got your letter? Or did you already know about it long before, since your mum and dad are the king and queen?"

Shuri shook her head. "I don't know anything about it, and when I asked my parents, they were doubtful that magic even existed. We have other resources in Wakanda; we don't need magic."

The train's whistle blew, drowning out whatever Hermione was about to say in response. "What do we do when we get off the train?" Shuri asked her when she could make herself heard again.

"First years cross the lake in boats," Hermione said. "I don't know whether that includes transfer students. You should probably ask whoever's escorting the first-year students. And make sure you change into your robes. Goodness, I almost forgot to change myself. Hurry!" She darted out of the compartment. Shuri watched her go, then reached for the case where she had packed her robes, fresh from her laboratory and full of all sorts of interesting vibranium-based tech. She heaved the case down onto the seat, and realized _Hogwarts, A History_  was still sitting there. Hermione must have been in an awful hurry, or maybe she just trusted Shuri already. Shuri hoped it was the latter, and in any case she planned to be trustworthy. She resolved to bring the book with her, and return it to Hermione as soon as she could.

* * *

The train chuffed to a halt a few minutes later, just as Shuri finished changing into her robes. Outside the windows, a lake glittered, and beyond it, a large old-fashioned castle. All her life, Shuri had been used to associating special abilities with technology and cutting-edge designs. She could see that being at Hogwarts was going to challenge her assumptions about a few things.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" someone was calling as she got off the train. A cold wind was blowing off the lake. Shuri clutched _Hogwarts, A History_  tight and tried to figure out where she was supposed to go. She couldn't see who was calling, in the press of students bustling every which way.

Someone tugged at her sleeve. "Come on!" Hermione was there again, pulling her towards the front of the train. A giant of a man stood there, apparently the person she'd heard calling for the first years. "Hagrid, this is my friend—um, actually I didn't ask your name."

"I'm Shuri. And I know you're Hermione, since you pointed it out on your bookplate."

"It's nice to meet you, Shuri. Hagrid, Shuri is a transfer student. Should she go with the first years?"

"Princess Shuri, righ'? Professor McGonagall said I was to watch for you. You're to see her in her office before the feast. Transfer students are sorted privately. You can come on the boats with us if you like, or you can walk to the castle with the others."

"I think I'll walk, thanks," Shuri said. She turned back to Hermione. "Will you show me where to go?"

Hermione nodded. "Follow me!"

* * *

The castle, as they drew closer, just looked old. It was impressively large and imposing, but Shuri thought it lacked the beauty of the smooth towering edifices she had grown up in. Hermione was explaining something about class schedules, though Shuri wasn't sure how much applied to her. Would she have to start at the beginning with the first years, or would she be in any of the second-year classes Hermione was chattering about? She supposed Professor McGonagall would explain all that to her. Either that, or she was waiting to tell her privately that they'd discovered her deception and she was being sent back to Wakanda immediately. "Hermione! In case anything goes wrong with my admission paperwork and they won't let me stay here, can I give you my address?" she asked, on sudden impulse. "Since we're friends and all."

"I don't need your address," Hermione said. "I'll just send you an owl. Haven't you read about owls yet?"

"I haven't read much of anything," Shuri said. "I didn't have anything to read until I found your copy of _Hogwarts, A History_. Here it is, by the way. You left it on the train."

"Oh!" Hermione took the book from her and held it for a minute. "Um, actually, if you'd like," she said after a bit, "you can keep it for a few days, until you've read the rest of it. Do you read very fast? It took me less than three days to read it the first time, but I read faster than anybody else I know."

"Three days should be plenty," Shuri assured her, allowing Hermione to place the book back in her hands. "I'll take good care of it."

"I know you will," Hermione said. "I wouldn't loan my books to anybody that I didn't trust to take care of them."

They crossed one last courtyard, and the doors of the castle were before them. "What's Professor McGonagall like?" Shuri asked.

"She's a good teacher," Hermione said. "Strict, but fair." She turned to face Shuri, and must have seen the worry on her face. "Don't worry, she's not going to expel you before you've even been here five minutes! Now, you go up that staircase and down the corridor halfway. There will be a door on the left; it's obvious, you can't miss it. If you see any cats, be polite to them. Good luck, and I'll see you at the feast!"

"What if I don't get sorted into Gryffindor?"

"Then I'll wave at you when I see you at your house table, and you can tell me all about it afterwards. Now go!"

* * *

Professor McGonagall was nice enough. Shuri worried that she would realize that she wasn't magical—or worse, that she would realize that Shuri had forged the letter. It was her name, after all, that Shuri had signed to it, the same as on the copy she'd found in the book shop. But if Professor McGonagall suspected anything of the sort, she didn't say. All business, she sat Shuri down on a stool and put an ancient hat on her head. The hat mumbled to itself—some sort of magical AI?—before announcing "Gryffindor!" At that, Professor McGonagall cracked a smile. "Welcome to Gryffindor," she said. "It is my house, and I am very fond of it. Now, here is your class schedule. As a transfer student who has not previously studied magic, you'll be taking mostly first-year classes even though you're as old as most of the second-year students. It's up to you, though, whether you want to room in the first- or second-year dormitory."

"I'd like the second-year dormitory, please," Shuri said. Might as well stick with the one friend she'd made here so far—not to mention easy access to _Hogwarts, A History_.

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said. "Your belongings will be there waiting for you by the time you reach the dormitory this evening. Gryffindor Tower is a fine place; I have many fond memories from when I lived there myself. Now, off with you! The feast awaits!"

* * *

Hermione waved wildly when Shuri arrived in the hall, and was absolutely exultant when Shuri announced that she'd been sorted into Gryffindor. Shuri wondered how Hermione would react when she found out it was all a sham—that Shuri wasn't a witch, that she really didn't deserve to be here at all—but she pushed those thoughts away. Maybe she'd be able to slip cleanly away at the end of this, and Hermione would never need to know. But that was a worry for later. For now, she dug into the beef roast and mashed potatoes and let Hermione tell her all about Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House ghost.

The prefects led them to Gryffindor Tower after dinner. Everyone seemed inclined to stay up late talking in the common room, but Shuri had other plans. She retired to the dormitory immediately, and set to reading as much of _Hogwarts, A History_  as she could. She was 200 pages in before Parvati Patil finally insisted they turn out the lights.

* * *

Charms was Shuri's first class, bright and early on Monday morning. Professor Flitwick was a tiny man who lectured energetically on the uses and functions of charms. His excitement was contagious; Shuri found herself dreaming of all sorts of possibilities inherent in the charms he was listing. Goodness, if you could make something fly simply by pointing a wand at it, you wouldn't need to power the propulsion field from the generator. That would mean more power could go to the shields! Or perhaps there was a shield charm, too.

The second half of class was practical. Everyone pulled out their wands, pointed them at feathers, and said "Wingardium leviosa." Shuri went through the motions, too, but was unsurprised to see that her feather didn't move an inch. Fortunately, this didn't break her cover, as about half of the class was in equally bad shape.

"Not to worry, not to worry!" Professor Flitwick told them more than once. "You'll get the hang of it, soon enough!" Shuri figured she would just have to not be here anymore by the time everyone else got the hang of it.

Transfiguration was next, with Professor McGonagall. It turned out that she could turn herself into a cat, and all the first years (as well as Shuri herself) oohed and aahed to see her transform. After a lengthy lecture, they were all handed matches, and set to work attempting to turn them into needles. If Shuri was in her lab, she was sure she could have produced a cloak for the match that would convince anyone viewing it that it was a perfectly-formed needle. But to make it into an actual, functional needle that could push its way through cloth...could she do that with vibranium-based tech? An entirely new approach would be needed; not a cloak at all, but something that could transform the molecular structure of the match. If you bombarded it with vibranium atoms, perhaps...

Shuri passed a happy hour brainstorming about a vibranium-based approach to transfiguration, and was surprised to suddenly hear a bustle all about her, and to realize that all the students were leaving. Professor McGonagall smiled at Shuri as she belatedly got her books together and stood up. "How has your first day of classes been, Shuri?"

"It's all been very interesting," Shuri said, "but I'm sure you saw that I'm not very good at doing any of these things yet."

"Students rarely are, right away," Professor McGonagall said. "For some students, it takes quite a bit of time before they finally reach that moment of understanding that bring them to the point where they can perform a spell. It's a lot to take in, especially for someone in your position who didn't grow up around magic. But don't worry: you'll get there sooner or later."

Shuri wished she wasn't being so nice. "I'll look forward to that," she lied, and hurried out of the classroom and back to Gryffindor Tower.

The common room was full of students, young and old. Shuri pushed past them all and walked up the stairs to her dormitory, and sat quietly on the bed. She didn't belong here. She was a fraud, trying to steal knowledge she didn't deserve from people who cared about their students and who thought she belonged among their students. She should never have come here. She should have stayed in her laboratory, and worked with the vibranium she knew so well, and not tried to branch out into magic when she wasn't a witch, when Wakanda had never had a witch or a wizard in its citizenry.

The door opened and shut. Shuri hoped it wasn't Lavender or Parvati, back to blare a Weird Sisters album on the gramophone like they had all morning while they had been getting ready for class.

"Are you okay?" It was Hermione.

"I—" How could she answer that?

Hermione sat down on the bed next to her. "I know it can seem overwhelming, all there is to learn, especially as a Muggle and all. But see if this helps. Don't think about it as all these things you're going to have to know, and you're failing to know them yet. Think of it as all these things you have the opportunity to know, and as time goes on, you're going to get to know more and more of them!"

"It's not that," Shuri whispered. "Oh, what's the use...I'm a fraud! I'm not a witch, I forged my Hogwarts letter, and I'll never be able to do magic."

"That can't be true," Hermione said.

"I promise it is."

"No, I mean it literally can't. Didn't you get to chapter 10 yet?"

"'The Bewitchments of Hogwarts'? Yes, I read it last night."

"Did you read the part where it said the Hogwarts is bewitched to appear to be just an old ruin if a Muggle looks at it? With signs telling people to STAY AWAY, DANGER? And Muggle-repelling charms, so if Muggles get too close, they suddenly remember an urgent appointment elsewhere."

"I think so. "Repelling charms sounded useful. Shuri wondered if something like that could be adapted for the borders of Wakanda. They already had the shields to make it look like something it wasn't, though their tech only worked on everyone equally, instead of just on one group of people.

"Well? You're sitting here in a Hogwarts dormitory, and you don't seem to have thought of any urgent appointments to run off to. When you got off the Hogwarts Express and looked at Hogwarts, did you see a castle?"

Shuri shook her head. "Yes, but it's impossible. I told you, I forged my Hogwarts letter. I found one in an old book shop in London, and I made one up to look just like it."

"What name was on the letter you found?"

"It didn't have a name. That part was missing."

"So maybe the letter was meant for you the whole time, and you just didn't know it! Or maybe however they select students for Hogwarts just didn't detect you all the way over in Wakanda, and that's why you didn't get a letter. But it doesn't matter, because you obviously belong here. Shuri, you're a witch."

Shuri looked up at her finally, still not sure what to think. "Do you really think so?"

"I'm absolutely certain."

Magic had seemed out of her grasp all day. Shuri struggled to picture herself as someone who could use it. But think of the possibilities! If she could combine science and magic, there was so much she could do for Wakanda. They could shield the country more effectively; she would overhaul Baba's Talon Fighter completely...or maybe make an entirely new sort of aircraft first, and wait to mess with the Talon Fighter until after she had proved herself. So many things she could do; could she dare to hope?

"Look, let me show you. What spells did you work on today?"

"The Levitation Charm in Charms, and Matchstick to Needle in Transfiguration. But my feather didn't move, and my matchstick still looked like a matchstick by the end of class."

"That doesn't mean anything. Lots of witches and wizards don't get it on their first try. Now, here." Hermione grabbed a quill from Lavender's desk and set it on the bedspread in front of Shuri. "Before, when you were trying, you didn't think you could really do it. Now, do you believe me? That you are a witch?"

"I believe you." She really did, as unbelievable as it seemed. She was a witch!

"Now try again. Wingardium leviosa. With the emphasis on 'gar' and 'o'."

"Wingardium leviosa." Flick and swish. Nothing happened.

"The flick comes at the end of your wand movement, not the beginning."

"Wingardium leviosa." Swish and flick. Had it moved?

"That's better! Now try one more time, but make the swish a bit longer."

"Wingardium leviosa." Swish, flick. And there the feather went, flying across the room. Maybe she had just stirred up an air current with the movement of her wand, Shuri thought for a moment, then cast the doubts away. She was a witch! She stood up and walked over to where the feather had fallen. "Wingardium leviosa!" The feather rose into the air, and this time it didn't fall back down, but hovered there in front of her.

"Oh, careful!" Hermione came up next to her and plucked something out of the air. It was a hair tie from one of the girls' nightstands, that had been caught by her spell alongside the feather. "You see? You've done it! You're a witch!"

Shuri laughed at how unexpected it was, and laughed because she'd never expected to be a witch, and laughed more because of the hair tie. She couldn't seem to stop laughing. She was a witch, and a scientist too, and once she knew how to use both magic and science there wasn't anything she wouldn't be able to do. To think, only a few minutes ago she'd been trying to figure out how to leave Hogwarts, and now she wanted to stay here as long as she could. The year ahead held so many possibilities, and she wanted to seize hold of them all. If she studied on her own, would Professor McGonagall let her skip ahead a year and catch up with her age mates? She turned to Hermione, who was rummaging in her trunk. "If I can find a matchstick around here, do you think you could help me try to turn it into a needle?"

"I'm one step ahead of you," Hermione said, and held up a book of matches. "Let's get started."

Spells to learn, books to read, and a new friend to help her with both. Shuri couldn't wait to see what else this year held in store!


End file.
